James bolton



-1 J. BOLTON.

LUBRIQATOR FOR SHUTTLE RACES.

No. 252,013. Patented Jan. 10,1882.

WITNESEE5 1:: I 'HVEMUR- j/iaiwwux UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J'AM s BOLTON, OF oHIoAeo, ILLINOIS.

LUBRICATOR FOR SHUTTLE-RACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,013, dated January 10, 1882,

Application filed J 11110 20, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BOLTON, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain Improvements in Shuttle-Races for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a shuttle race for sewingmachines with a device for feeding lubricating-oil to the same just as it may be required to prevent heating and wearing friction between it and the shuttle, whether the same be a rotating or an oscillating shuttle. I have accomplished that object by the device hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents an elevation or side view of ashuttle-race with an oscillating shuttlein position and with my device in use; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the same, taken as indicated by the broken line 2 2 in Fig. l; and Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section, in detail, of the lubricating device, which consists of a wick of cotton or other suitable material of a fibrous nature and a case or hollow tube capable of adjustment in a screwhole through the edge of the shuttle-race itself.

A indicates the shuttle-race, B the oscillating shuttle, and O the case for the wick, having the form of a thumb-screw; c, the wick, which extends below the lower end and above the upper end of the hollow screw-shaft C. Now, when the wick c is saturated with oil, the inner end in contact with the periphery of the shuttle, it naturally yields the oil, which is fed to its outer end by hand, and this tendency is increased by the heat generated by the friction of the shuttle in the race, which increases the fluidity of the oil, and as fast as the oil is given oif at the inner end its place is supplied from the body of the wick by the force of capillary attraction. The feed of the oil to the delicate frictional surfaces is slow and gradual, as it ought to be, to prevent excess and damage, and when the body of the wick becomes partially exhausted of the supply it is capable of holding it may be replenished by presenting the oil in a suitable vessel by hand to the outer end, which will absorb a new and a proper supply.

(No model.)

Thescrew-shaft may be adjusted in the screwhole in the race just as the exigencies of use may require. The inner end,however, should always reach nearly through to the shuttle, lest a space should be left in the hole for the oil to accumulate in by the force of gravity or otherwise, when the parts are at rest with the wick in a vertical position; but so long as the inner end of the wick protrudes through the rim of the race so as to touch or almost to touch it, it will feed the oil to it automatically, even against the force of gravity, whatever position the wick and its holder may occupy. Whenever the inner end of the wick wears oft, it will be necessary to turn the screw-shaft in a little farther, or else to push the wick itself through a little farther.

I am aware that J H. Gray, in his Letters a hole extending through the hub of a pulley,

such hole having a screw-thread to extend from the outside about halt-way through the hole and a hollow globe to contain a supply of oil, and provided with a short hollow screw shaft adapted to turn into the hole as far as the thread in the hole extends, and a wick in the bore of the shaft to convey oil from the supply in the globe into and through the hub, and that the oil is poured into the globe through an orifice therein running at Iight angles to the wick. I therefore disclaim his construction and arrangement of parts.

What I do claim, however, as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with shuttle-race A, provided with a threaded bore extending through from its outer to its inner periphery, a hollow screwshaft, 0, corresponding with it in size, length, and thread, adapted to extend the entire length of the bore and turn into and out of the same, and to hold a wick, c, longer than the bore, inorder that its outer end may be fed with lubricating-oil by hand and that its inner end may feed the same to the shuttle and shuttlerace automatically, substantially as described.

JAMES BOLTON. Witnesses:

FREDERICK G. Goonwnv, D. W. MARSHALL. 

